Been researching routers, some of the newest with wireless AX look promising with MU-MIMO and anywhere between 8 and 12 streams...to be honest I doubt I'll have any AX adapters for a while yet, so I would just be using it on AC and N mode. The only problem with getting an older router is that they appear to be just that--older. I can't see paying $200-$300 or more on a router that is already 3-5 years old, which is what looks to be available on Amazon. On the other hand, so many people who seem knowledgeable have been advising against wireless AX since they are mainly in draft AX and so I would just be paying to be a beta tester and there is no guarantee that todays draft AX routers may not be ready yet and end up needing upgrades to be truly AX or even fully backwards compatible with AC/N. Whadda think about the current router situation?

If you think it's too early for WIFI 6, give me some compelling reasons to stick with older AC tech, hopefully from your personal experience since I've read most of what is out there on the net...but I'd love to hear a personal review about the hardware. I'm getting close to cutting the cord and would like a router that will have zero problems with range in my 1500sq/ft ranch home, with router in the basement. Floors are OSD/Carpet/Vinyl, walls are typical wood frame/drywall. Furnace (with air returns) and water heater in a central location in basement so there will be a possibility of a little blockage directly opposite side from router in that area (basement is framed but never got around to walling it so still pretty open).

Thanks!

I have come to the conclusion that "FaceBook" should be renamed "FacePalm"

New tech is awesome, until you have nothing that supports it in your house ;)

I see absolutely no reason to go with AX right now unless you are planning to upgrade a bunch of stuff to use it within a short period of time. It looks promising but it will do nothing to help you on AC or N compared to a normal AC router. Range is dependent on your house, setup and which adapters you have so without the AX adapters......

I honestly think you would be better getting a lower end AC router (what mbps are you pushing at one time? 1700mbps is a lot!) and if it works all over the house great, if not, just add another one or a repeater, or two.

I am still using a Linksys E4200 router as I still have nothing that uses AC. I use a ASUS EA-N66 repeater downstairs to pull the wireless down here and then have it wired to a switch so I can have the local network run through gbps for the NAS. I am not 100% wireless and unless wireless tech gets amazing where it will eliminate gbps wired (or 10gbps, etc) I will never be. 1 simple wire gets me more speed than anything floating through the air can, except under really perfect circumstances.

When do you expect AX to become the norm, so to speak? Or at least for it to have a reason to exist for more than just the hard core enthusiasts.

I am guessing the earliest will be when the next gen consoles come out, likely winter 2020 (i am guessing from articles I read). If the Xbox is going totally digital (stupid IMHO) then you will need the best speed to get the games as they are getting HUGE and it will drive demand for the better routers to handle the saturation with downloading and doing other things in the same house. If laptops start incorporating wifi 6 by the end of the year then I can see demand rising earlier than the end of next year but it wont trickle down to the lower end laptops (that most people buy) until pricing gets to the point they can do it for the low cost they use wifi 5 for. You wont see the $300 laptop with a $250 wifi 6 card in it lol.

Samsung 10 has wifi 6 (ax) but I think that may even be the only cell phone at this point. I dont even see the need for it to be on a cell phone as the apps aren't big enough to demand it nor do streaming movies send full 4k res, they compress it. Better range would be the only boon I would think for cell phones.